Which fireplace still works during a power outage — gas, wood, or electric?
Here in Asheville, wood always works, and gas works only if it has a millivolt standing pilot or battery-backup ignition — the wall-powered electronic units go dark with the grid. Electric quits the instant the power does. It's the first question we field at our Emma Road counter, and for good reason after Helene.
Montford masonry versus South Asheville gas
Asheville's housing tells two different outage stories. The original open masonry fireplaces in Montford and North Asheville look reassuring, but an open hearth sends most of its heat straight up the chimney and, during a blackout, actually pulls warm room air out with it — ambiance, not a heat source. Newer South Asheville construction leans toward clean-face gas and modern wood designs, where the answer comes down to one detail most owners never checked: how the unit lights. A sealed gas insert dropped into that old masonry opening, or a wood stove, turns a decorative firebox into real grid-down heat.
The ignition detail that decides it
Two gas fireplaces on the same block can behave completely differently when the lines go down. A millivolt unit like Valor's H5 makes its own trickle of power from the pilot flame and keeps radiating heat with no circuit board to fail; Napoleon builds battery backup into the Ascent 36 for the same reason. Electronic wall-powered ignition without a battery simply won't light. At 2,134 feet, Asheville nights sit in the 20s well into spring, so a shoulder-season outage is still a cold one you'll want covered.
We're minutes away
Being headquartered at 629 Emma Road means we can look at what you own quickly — bring the model number by the showroom, or call and we'll tell you exactly how your fireplace behaves in an outage. Any gas or conversion work is licensed in North Carolina; we pull the Buncombe County permit, pressure-test the line, and meet the inspector. The in-home assessment is free. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.
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